Can White House Fix Veterans Affairs Double Standard On Racism?

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a problem with sexual molesters and apparently racists. With all the turmoil in the ranks of leadership, can we count on the White House to lead VA away from the abyss?

The White House and the new acting secretary of Veterans Affairs have a troubling double standard to address on racist statements made on Facebook by agency employees.

A week ago, VA employee and union president Tatishka Thomas posted a racist statement against “white privilege” while working at embattled Bay Pines VA, located in Florida.

I first reported it here after reports and a copy of the post surfaced at the Facebook group page Bay Pines Exposed. Numerous members of the group page were outraged by the comment and troubled a union president and VA employee would make such a statement.

Shockingly, when asked by local NBC affiliate Target 8 News, Thomas confirmed she made the racist comment and qualified it by claiming VA employees should be able to make whatever comments they want on their personal Facebook pages.

‘Dance Monkey Dance’ Demotion

Now, Thomas should say that to VA employee and combat veteran Stephen Pina, a manager who was demoted by VA leadership after making comments on his personal Facebook page criticizing protests by NFL players.

Last October, Pina critiqued NFL players by commenting, “dance monkey dance” in response to his belief the NFL employees should not protest while at work but instead perform the task they are well paid to perform.

The comments resulted in his swift demotion despite explaining he did not intend the statements to be racist.

“It was not meant to be a racist comment, and if it was taken as such that’s regrettable,” Pina said. “At heart, it wasn’t intentional. … It wasn’t meant to be that way.”

VA did not care about his intention but demoted him because of the backlash associated with the statement.

At the time, I researched the phrase “dance monkey dance” related to pop culture to see how it was used in history to assess whether the phrase has multiple uses not connected with racism.

According to Wikipedia, the phrase “dance monkey dance” originally surfaced in a movie called The Cape Town Affair, in 1967.

The phrase was made popular as a catchphrase following an SNL skit “Dance, Monkey, Dance!” in the 1980’s.

Since that time, it has been used in numerous movies and skits as a joke making fun of unthinking humans. Zoolander is a recent example where Ben Stiller is playing a dimwitted model dressed up like a monkey with cymbals and ordered to “dance monkey.”

A similar derivative, “Dance, Monkeys, Dance” was used by author Ernest Cline in 2013 to describe the human race including whites and blacks and everything in between. Cline seems to intend the phrase’s use as a satirical critique of the humans.

As far as my recent research, it appears the phrase is often used in a derogatory manner to imply the individuals are not intelligent but instead performing basic tasks. Race, it would seem, is not always implicated, meaning Pina’s denial of racist intent is at least plausible.

Instead, had Pina used the “N” word or some other common device used in racist statements, the substantial weight of the evidence might support a demotion.

VA Comments By Curt Cashour

VA was not persuaded by Pina’s rhetoric and demoted him almost immediately for the statement.

“VA does not condone or tolerate such unacceptable and offensive comments from any of our employees,” said Curt Cashour, press secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, in an email to The Enterprise. “That’s why we have proposed demoting this employee and removing him from his management/supervisory role.”

By implication, Pina was punished for statements that were interpreted as racist even though he, according to him, intended no racism.

Tatishka Thomas vs Stephen Pina

The differences between the two cases seem obvious.

Thomas admitted to making the obvious racist statements but asserts she can make whatever statement she likes on her personal Facebook page, “My post to my personal [Facebook] page are just that, my personal opinions and experiences.”

Pina admitted to making the comments but denied they were intended as racist. He instead intended them as a form of political speech as a critique of the political speech of the NFL players while those NFL players are at work.

I asked Cashour about VA’s position concerning Thomas’s statement over a week ago. He has not responded nor has VA provided any comment on whether it is even investigating the confirmed allegations.

Local Bay Pines VA told Channel 8 it could not authenticate the post despite Thomas herself telling the news station that she, in fact, made the comment online.

Do you wonder if they even asked Thomas, whose photo and name appear above the racist comment?

AFGE Comments On Racist Statement

A reporter from Channel 8 attempted to get comment from AFGE National to get feedback on its position on the racist comment but the requests were ignored.

Not dissuaded, Channel 8 confronted national union representative Leo Mentio at a local union rally. Mentio refused to squarely address the statement, but Wanda White, local 547 president, called the racist comments “unfortunate” and claims not all union representatives are like Thomas.

Let’s hope not.

Thomas promised to sit with Channel 8 News for an interview but has yet to follow up with the news station for that interview.

ABA On Racist Comments By Public Employees

Consider the following examples of punishment of public employees for their public comments that could be perceived as racist from an American Bar Association (ABA) article:

• A Nashville, Tennessee, police officer was fired in February after an investigation into a Facebook comment he made about how he would have shot motorist Philando Castile five times instead of four. Castile died last July after a St. Paul, Minnesota, officer shot him four times during a traffic stop.

• A fire captain in Austin, Texas, was suspended in November after posting inflammatory political opinions regarding Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama on Facebook.

• A Mount Vernon, New York, fire lieutenant was suspended last August for an Instagram post expressing support for Micah Johnson, who killed five Dallas police officers and wounded seven others in a sniper attack.

• A New Rochelle, New York, police sergeant was suspended in August because of a Facebook post criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement and protesters.

When a public employee’s posts create a real fear of backlash from the community, as in the case of Pina, courts often defer to the employer’s judgments.

“For example, I think such concerns are especially strong where a police officer’s off-duty speech—on social media or elsewhere—undermines a police department’s ability credibly to communicate its commitment to evenhanded law enforcement regardless of race,” University of Colorado law professor Helen Norton explains. “For example, consider the message sent to the public if a police chief were to march in a Klan parade while off duty—or sends a series of racist tweets.”

“Employers have an interest in distancing themselves from hateful speech, racist speech or other speech that would undermine the effectiveness of the workplace,” Nashville constitutional lawyer Daniel Horwitz says. “These concerns are also especially heightened for first responders and other public employees who require the public’s complete trust that they will discharge their duties faithfully and impartially without regard to factors like a person’s race, gender or sexual orientation.”

However, Horwitz explains that “problems arise when an employer punishes an employee to promote a personal agenda, when discipline is more severe than necessary, or when discipline is meted out inconsistently for similar offenses.”

This is apparently what we are seeing at Bay Pines VA.

An example might be when “an offensive comment about Donald Trump supporters is treated differently from an offensive comment about Black Lives Matter supporters,” says Horwitz. “In other words, the onus should be on the employer to demonstrate that the effectiveness of the workplace was actually undermined in some meaningful way as a consequence of an employee’s decision to speak out.”

Is the “effectiveness of the workplace” at Bay Pines VA undermined by the racist comment of Thomas on her Facebook page? Can she make derogatory comments about “whites” while also representing “whites” as a union president against the Department of Veterans Affairs?

Racism And Sexism Exist At The Department Of Veterans Affairs

Racism and sexism are still major problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A new report revealed taxpayers paid victims of sex harassment over $4 million since 2012.

Within the past two years, VA investigated and terminated at least 4 attorneys from the Board of Veterans Appeals for their racist Forum of Hate. There, the attorneys blasted anyone of any race, gender or sexual preference in racist and bigoted rants for over seven years before being caught.

Personally, I believe in the First Amendment. I also believe federal employees, especially those working in a management capacity, should be reasonably free of racism.

Those managers, attorneys or union representatives engaging in public displays of racism should be let go under the current easy termination platform.

Instead, we see multiple disabled veterans being fired after requesting reasonable accommodations or after reporting sexual harassment.

So what really is going on behind the scenes?

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a morality problem. The much seems clear. Those who display true anti-social behavior are protected or promoted at the expense of everyone else including veterans.

The agency clearly lacks the guts needed to clear up the mess. So can we count on the White House to take action – – to clear up the harassers and racists?

ABOUT FOUNDER
Benjamin Krause is a lawyer, investigative reporter and award-winning veterans advocate. He is author of the guide Voc Rehab Survival Guide for Veterans and chief editor of DisabledVeterans.org.
He received his Bachelors from Northwestern University and Law Degree from the University of Minnesota, both using VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment.
He is also featured regularly in national publications as an authority on Department of Veterans Affairs policy such as Bloomberg News, Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington Times, Fox News, CBS, NBC, Star Tribune and more.
_____________________________________________________________

50 COMMENTS

1. She is just another one of those instigators and agents with that secret hate going on and who drank the South African White person hating Mandela, Panther, Marxist, and King Obummer Kool Aid.

2. There is no separating activism, or seemingly politics from the VA or much else today.

3. She is one of those who get pissed off or roll their eyes when we are asked by PAs to get the names of people we are having issues with at VA computer terminals, or can’t seem to do their jobs. Ask how you spell your name and about all hell breaks lose or their offense or victim status, butt hurt, status is made clear. Or mispell one of their names and watch their teammates make that a major issue instead of what is being discussed.

4. The fifties and beyond ‘dance monkey dance’ was heard. The old monkey owners and organ grinders, some vets, were a daily scene down town trying to make a buck with possibly another badly mangled vet sliding around on board platforms with wheels next to them selling pencils or whatever they had to sell or wanted some support. Two ‘monkey man’ or monkey men here were White. The old Black man that two of us White kids were shining shoes with and for didn’t seem to have any issues with the song, dance, Monkeys, or words used. He would join in the fun, sayings, and feed the monkeys. So piss on the sports asshats and well to do scum crying oppression, White priviledge, or racism or saying politics is part of sports too today. Hell with them all. I don’t care what color or religion they are. Boycott the trash. The AFGE, SEIU, all others too. Include that affirmative action shit and AFL/CIO too. Like we are to trust and hope in VA/Civy MDs coming from foreign nations that hate us and all over with barely passing grades in med school to appease special interest groups, fulfill quotas, or poltical correctness? Horse poop. It all just shows how far dug-in the communist and Marxist are, period.

5. Whites for any reason or to combat hate and attacks on us, our country, culture, our history is not allowed to gather of form groups. Even suggest we have spokes people and represtitives like every other group out there has… even Satan worshippers and worse have. Women can have groups but not men over men’s rights over a variety of issues? The double standards, supposedly being equal then saying ‘the man should shoulder the heavier load” and etc? Nope, it’s all FUBAR and with censoring, stupid hate speech or thought crimes, the butt-hurt easily offended, victim status culture ingrained and used, nothing will improve.

Horwitz and others like him have their own biases and ingrained hate and supremacy issues to deal with. Like it or not. I don’t care what position he holds or letters surround his name.

Nope. Neither a White house or Black house, or Latino House can or will change things. Trumpster’s focus is elsewhere and scattered, C’mon. It’s all about our differences while the official narrative is we have none and blame everything on Whitey and we must bow to all else out their, to their perceived harm, their whims, whine, to hell with us. Ask an honest indigenous native American about ‘tribalism’ and how their problems are today along with very very very strict treaties and boundaries between them, and why. Or the hate, slavery, slaughter of the different tribes in Africa is all about IF they want to get really real. Or why slavery is still alive today all over the world but only “Whites” are the focus and blame for everything gone wrong in the world. Oh but let’s not dare speak some reality or historical facts. The writings and agendas are on the wall. Who has the gonads to tackle it all or can. The big wanted switch to ovary controls sure don’t’ seem to working well either.

As a long ago union officer I represented ALL members. Had the Panther types to deal with too and with their tunnel visioned agendas. Didn’t matter there was no pleasing them or agents of division. No dealing with a corrupted nation-wide huge union either. No getting some people to lose their poltics or activism at work or union meetings, conferences. But try talking about God or reality, or corruption today in a workplace. I went back to them, their Black groups, during the evidence gathering and such for a Fed court brief and was told… after sticking up for them, losing my job, ” hey man that’s a White thang” and don’t’ want any part of it or lose our jobs too.” So what to do. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Stuck between corrupt corporations, corrupt Feds/states, unions, plus the activist and all that encompasses. Plus the Marxist and commies. Think certain mind-sets, what colleges med schools included and special interest groups are pushing today or teaching the kiddies from birth going to change anything? No change a coming I see, or possible. VA or civilian. Health care or not.

Ahhh don’t worry. the hundreds of millions of illegals, gangs, and refugees will make everything much better in the USA. Don’t worry, be Trilaterialist, communitarians, pawns, globalist, drink the mainstream Kool-Aid and all will be well. Let the VA and their activist, state, church, colleges and federally supported, and haters pick us off one at a time or by small White groups only. Everything is groovy.

I really got a sneaky suspicion that Admiral is stepping into a hornet’s nest!
As for “Racism” or “Prejudices” by individuals – that’s been going on for a long time!
I’m not going to comment – other than;
“I’ve lived by one simple rule: Treat all ASSHOLES equally!” I don’t give a shit what race, ethnic group, or any other thing a person is, or wants to be! If they’re an ASSHOLE, they are an ASSHOLE!
That said, The union president of Bay Pine is an ASSHOLE. Just as the head of the union – David Cox – IS/was/and will always be an ASSHOLE!
It ultimately IS his job to root out corruption, waste, fraud, abuses; ie: racism, prejudices, etc., in the union and have it “cease and desist”! Since he has done just the opposite – “He’s an ASSHOLE!”

I agree. Crazy elf. I am an Equal Opportunity Loather of Assholes (EOLA…hats coming soon), and I wish to be treated as I treat everyone else, with respect.
NOT some reinvented definition of “respect” that goes as far as the newest trend, a person such as a USPS acquaintance I had, whom was a supervisor here locally and this past holiday season one African American male employee was stealing mail so he was reprimanded and that didn’t work, so he had to let him know he was going to be let go.
This ASSHOLE, arrived early one cold morning a number of months ago at the USPS station NAKED and a gun…killed my acquaintance (I know his partner, now widow), then still naked but later that same afternoon drove to condo where his main supervisor lived and killed her….why? He claimed he was “disrespected” by his supervisors.
No dummy human, you were STEALING…

^^Through all that shit, I still try to take the higher road and not become racist minded…but when you have uppity ASSHOLES like what I described, or the ASSHOLE in article today, it’s a landmine no matter where you step and I am quite tired of it all.

Can we just get along and obey the laws?
Hate me, I just don’t give a fuck.
Rant Out.

Guess what Federal Union has it’s tendrils of corruption within the USPS and creates a culture of uppity entitled types of uppity asshole Federal employees that either kill Veterans or ignore their needs at the VA….or while working at the USPS under same umbrella federal union….killing Veterans at work because they were holding the assholes accountable….or dying trying to…

If you harbor racial animosity you are simply not capable of acting in your professional capacity when it comes to representing members of the race you harbor the animosity towards. This becomes especially problematic when situations arise that force you to represent a member of the race you denigrate against a member of your own race. If this person was my union rep I as a caucasian would have to seriously question this persons ability to represent me in matters before management.

It doesn’t matter if you try to hide your racism behind your “personal facebook page” the racism is yours. It is carried into work each and every day and it affects all interaction with members of the race you despise in all manner of subtle ways. There is no way to effectively segregate your racism from your work duties. It colors all.

I imagine that if a veteran could prove racial animosity from this woman negatively impacted his/her case it would open her up to personal liability. I would think at the least it leaves the door open for a case against the government. This is why it is in everybody’s best interest that this racist be terminated from federal service post haste. The government avoids yet another scandal and the taxpayer avoids yet another lawsuit.

. gotta hate a race before u can be called a racist. beside the characteristics racism carries is different to be predisposed from cultural prejudice. which means a person or group that calls other people racist are inclined to there own ignorance just from the simple fact that they call people out from trying to understand there own hate. this is called reverse racism in some instances.

when u call me a racist white gentlemen for white privilege how is white privilege hateful in the form of how the African American culture describes it ? and if u describe white privilege to another white man your going get a different story on other white groups that view your opinion of what white privilege is different . hate will always remain the same with its same motives if hate changes in the same line of racial differences it means a sense of inequality not racism. people get it fuck up all the time. i

That she has not been punished in any way is shocking, particularly given the well known examples cited in the article.
She clearly mentioned race in her post whereas Pina did not. In his post, people assumed he meant black players, but there have been plenty of white players kneeling as well. This isn’t to defend his post, but to show what a blatant double standard this is.

Whenever I see someone use the phrase “white privilege”, I interpret it as someone believes just because you were born white, you did not have to struggle or deal with hardship in life. That someone did not grow up dirt poor and hungry. That someone did not have to fight every step of the way to get to where they are, even while being pushed back by special privilege groups who were offered easier access to something because they (or their long dead ancestors) had to struggle or were oppressed.

It tells me she has an attitude where she will look at every white veteran she sees as being privileged and unworthy of an acceptable response.

I’m curious though if Pina would have any recourse in such a blatant double standard in punishment.

At least he’s considered white and privileged such that his demotion might not affect him. Much.

There is no defenses of this that Cashour can provide other than management from her supervisor all the way to VACO are gutless.

Their week response will make things much worse, and be harder to fix.

There is a reason why Elizabeth Warren claims Indian blood, and it has nothing to do with her being white and privileged.

White Privilege Is a joke when people speak that Bullshit, Tatishka Thomas, You get extra points on your test scores when you apply for anything Federal….I call that Black Privilege, And i wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth either, You have got more privileges than we do, And I bet nothing much happens to her either.
Fuck you and the VA,….Call me what you want, but you don’t even know me…

Try living in a town, multiple lefty college town, or state that supports college activities like the above, censors the hell out of people like me,vets. And even buries news when a local mafioso type freak or “snowflake” hits and kills a white man. And that can obviously and fairly openly run a ‘White man’ or veterans off from the VA and pass it one to a major hospital for care and keep playing lefty games. But will show on their news channels about these colleges, students, professors, NAACP, ADL, Chambers, town councils, all media, down-towner business groups, etc., supporting this crap. All supported and protected by seemingly all in the state, VSOs and by all local politicians.

I will also go toe to toe, tit for tat, over discrimination issues/stories/life experiences, being attacked, censored, having to quit high school, with any B ball/NFL trash player/kneeler out there including Oprah.

My Dear Brothers & Sisters: As you may have noticed, I’ve commented on Ben’s EXCELLENT COLUMN several times in the past, and my message remains the SAME: THE US VA HEALTH AND MEDICAL SYSTEMS WILL NEVER TRULY FIX THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY ARE FORMED ON A PREMISE OF DYSFUNCTIONALITY, i.e. you are having severe symptoms that may be combat related. You go see a doc at the nearest VA Medical Center who prescribes pills, and tells you to return in 3 weeks, which you do; at which time (s)he then prescribes additional pills, and tells you to return in 3 weeks, which you do, etc. etc. This is NOT medical treatment, it’s a “protection racket,” of sorts, multiplied by hundreds of thousands of legitimately very sick and wounded/disabled United States veterans. IF we want the quality medical treatment and care WE DESERVE ,WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO START UNITING AND ADVOCATING FOR EACH OTHER . IF you know of ANOTHER SICK /INJURED VETERAN WHO IS OR COULD USE a little DIRECTION, YOU’VE FOUND YOURSELF AN ALLY AND BROTHER/SISTER —an especially valuable thing in these days of the BIG BUDGET CUT, and GROW THAT TO MORE AND MORE OF THE SAME BROTHERS and SISTERS; WHO KEEP THE VA’S NOSE TO THE GRINDER, and pretty soon we’re being listened to, because we’re a vibrant force to be reckoned with ! ! ! Certainly, this is NO TIME to turn around and WALK AWAY with our tail between our legs. C.H.

She’s a union thug. They do whatever they want at the VA. My union president lied to me and assisted the VA in retaliating against me. Oh, he even yelled at me once.

They are garbage. All they care about is dues and “official time”

Good luck reporting them to the FLRA.

Same racial bias when it comes to gun violence. Just in this past week on the radio African-Americans shooting each other over an “argument” yet city officials telling their employees that a potential risk for gun violence is someone who frequents NRA or 2nd Amendment websites….go figure.

@Sailor’sWife
Why do you feel the need to keep kicking the shins of the posters on Ben’s site?
Anyone that has signed the line is a warrior at heart; We don’t give up …and above all else, we don’t leave our siblings behind.

Given the rare opportunity I reply to an oped, website post, or any other media gateway, I always make it known that my response does not seek a thumb up or a thumb down. I do not seek to make friends, as I have enough.

I am a career U.S. Army Soldier BY CHOICE 81′-2007. OIF war veteran 04′-06′. Strong on family and patriotic values in upper middle class moral and ethical guides. I swore and still do, never did drugs or drink, smoked cig’s, and was a class clown…….

I am a republican, not a tea partier or a conservative. I am anti NRA (long before the current anti NRA establishment). I am anti islam, anti illegal alien, animal rights advocate to the core, environmentalist, and all of which do not cause me tunnel vision.

Since the injection of that Bowel Movement (blm for you intellectuals), I have determined 2 things:
1) the KKK have been choirboys compared to black groups who are America’s real racists
2) blacks have idolized and cheer for criminal deviancy, anti Americanism, and in particular anti white.

Since blacks and the gullible white Americans have created a new agenda called White Privilege, the ignorance and lethergic “brightness” of said blacks and their puppet playmates have done one thing and one thing only:

TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS USED AND ABUSED which will cause tears to shed over their plight…….AS IF there is a plight..

Blacks want racism. Blacks need racism. Blacks love racism. Blacks are racism. Blacks thrive on racism. Blacks live for racism. Without racism, blacks would be without a purpose, except of course to progress and achieve like EVERYBODY other than blacks.

Now!! The following is a challenge: if any individual knows anybody who knows this filthy, racist black piece of human inconvenience who boasted White Privilege as a VA employee and union rep, pass this on… The DNA in her family is cancerous, filthy, deviant, and….. She is a moulinyan and to her face I will say such..

I hear fellow Soldiers and those puppet masters of society who claim ” the American Soldier fought for your rights”.
Wrong answer. I dis not fight for those two legged garbage cans who kneel. I did not fight for blacks or anybody who shows dishonor to the very blanket of freedom, AMERICAN FLAG, STARS AND STRIPES..

I am not a society puke nor am I in line to give back….. Give back is a racially generated welfare system without bureaucracy by which diversity is merely dedicated to the black person. Give back? I do not owe anybody a damn thing…

Oh, by the way, TRUMP got it right calling out global and local shitholes. But, when blacks responded, in their mind of course (black tires with white lettering is racist) black leaders failed to recognize the black filthy athletes who kneeled before the flag and national anthem, are calling America a shithole. Snatch and grabbem then airdrop over Afghanistan and Syria….

This simple minded black broad who showcases her racism is to be fired or airdropped into Afghanistan. She is tbe type you leave behind.

You are spot on about certain blacks needing racism, and many more using it when convenient as a crutch.

It’s much the same as what I have heard of the Palestinians or the “Middle East Peace” process.

Arafat turned down a sweetheart deal in which he would have gotten everything he wanted and more, but then what use would he be? Much less foreign “aide” would roll in that he could skim. Nobody on the foreign leader stage would pay him any more mind than any other common street thug, so what good was peace for him?

He turned it down, much the same as many blacks refuse to stand on their own two feet. Certain people “leading” the black community need racism to be kept alive in order to continue their lifestyle, or nobody would pay them any more mind than any other common street thug. Others use what those “leaders” claim as a crutch for not picking themselves up and progressing, and still others just remain willingly ignorant.

Then you have “leaders” such as “Rev’rend Al SharpTON, who is given a free pass even by the likes of the IRS, of which, he owes several Million $$$…still…and when he needs more $$$ he gets his “congregation” to give him even more…it’s like the old west snake salesman/rainmaker/preacher and later evolves to carny clown tilt-o-whirl operator….keep the problem so you can always charge or make others keep paying for the same problem…perpetual thug in motion snake salesman, by any other names.

I have observed that the VA has morality problems, sexism problems, and racism problems. Just like the rest of Modern Day America. Those three sets of problems combined, are (broadly speaking) the major symptomatic causes of the rise of “thug culture” within our country. America versus America. Not a productive war in the least. But one that unfortunately must be fought.

Many of you will be familiar with the plan I present below to begin to fix the broken VA. I challenge you to critically think about it, not only as it specifically relates to the VA – – – but also how it would go a long way towards weeding out the “thug culture” elements within the VA.

Am I for privatization of the VA? Not on your life! I truly believe that veterans deserve TRUE choice in their healthcare. Their will be veterans who choose to remain with the current VA “system”. They should be allowed to do so. Their will be those (like me) who will want to use doctors outside the VA “system”. We should be allowed to do so.

1. IMMEDIATELY recognize the problems inherent in the VA are SYSTEM-WIDE, not just limited to a few locations.

2. Fire all the Lazy No Good Workers. Fire EVERY single AFGE/SES Employee.

3. Sell off all the VA facilities. Alternatively, they may be converted into military barracks-style housing for homeless veterans.

4. Issue all veterans a card that allows them to choose their own doctors within their community that they can TRUST.

5. The United States Government will PAY those doctors promptly (Within 45 days) for the care they provide veterans.

6. ELIMINATE the “Federal Protection” Umbrella for incompetent QUACKS that the VA sends to other states to practice other than their own. Going to practice in XX state? You need to be LICENSED in XX state.

7. Any claim a veteran submits to the VBA that requires more than 90 days to adjudicate, is automatically found to be in favor of the veteran.Should a veteran file a false claim to scam the system, the VA will have to prove in civil court that the claim was falsely submitted. For filing a false claim, the veteran will be subject to ALL of the following:

(A). The claim shall be denied. If the veteran has received any form of benefits because of the false claim they will be required to fully repay the benefits at cost.
(B). The veteran will be banned from all VA facilities for the remainder of their life.
(C). The veteran will lose any benefits they originally have or had, and will not be allowed to file for further benefits.

8. All veterans will be allowed to seek/retain the services of a Veterans Rights Attorney from their first initial contact with the VA. This will help to protect the legal rights of veterans against corrupt and incompetent VA employees.

9. No AFGE, nor any other Labor Union business will be allowed to take place in any Federal Workplace. Conducting Union Business during working hours will be STRICTLY PROHIBITED, and will be STRICTLY ENFORCED. Should any government employee be found violating this provision, it will result in IMMEDIATE LIFETIME DISMISSAL FROM ANY/ALL GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYMENT.

10. Attorneys for appeal will be retained at the former employee’s PERSONAL expense. U. S. Taxpayer’s will not be subject to payment of legal bills for incompetent or dishonest personnel with regards to Governmental Employment.

Of course, the above ten points are just the broad strokes. If one stretches their mind a bit though, it is fairly easy to see how this would have some beneficial fallout in other areas as well.

My view on race is that no human being on earth ever had the ability to choose the color of their skin pre-birth. For the foreseeable future, no human being ever will. Want to “dislike” or “hate” someone? You do it for the choices they make, NOT for things they were given NO choice in.

What a boring existence it would be if the rainbow of humanity were monochrome.

Jim,
Nicely stated!
I stumbled onto this story.
Total tunnel vision; they just don’t want to understand.
“https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-can-fix-veterans-health-care-without-privatizing-it-heres-how/2018/04/02/”
Opinions
We can fix veterans’ health care without privatizing it. Here’s how.
By Nancy M. Schlichting
Nancy M. Schlichting, former chief executive of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, served as chair of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Commission on Care from 2015 to 2016.

Sorry Jim, I lopped off the tail and well…
“https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-can-fix-veterans-health-care-without-privatizing-it-heres-how/2018/04/02/3b85a448-3443-11e8-8bdd-cdb33a5eef83_story.html?utm_term=.81c4dc169d78”

@Rosie – – – Thanks for the link. I agree with her basic premise, will have to read the findings/recommendations of the link contained in the article this weekend.

I do however take umbrage when she said: “instead of outsourcing care to the private sector, we can fully credential and train private-sector providers. This would allow us to manage private sector and VHA care in a coordinated fashion to meet all the health-care needs of veterans.”

Seems to me that to this point the VA cannot conduct a thorough vetting of most of its’ providers, which is why there are many, many providers working within the system who are here on H-1B visas not to mention many providers get hired who have civil disciplinary action pending, or who have been sued for malpractice in their state of licensing.

Given that this occurs all too frequently, how are we ever to feel confident that the VA will be able to manage the much more difficult task of fully training and credentialing civilian providers?

I could quite easily use her reasoning to make a very coherent argument that the “federal protection umbrella” needs to be gotten rid of, as I state in my ten point plan.

@Jim
The thing that has me concerned is the knee-jerk chain reactions that become blanket policy at the physical/emotional/monetary expenses of the patient.

As a recent example, if you go back to Ben’s article on Mar 2, about TB being lauded over for her part in enacting into law that if the veteran patient has a diagnosed mental health issue, the community care providers (Choice) must follow VA guidelines according to the VAOIG report “https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-17-01846-316.pdf”. In essance NO pain meds allowed if the patient has chronic pain and a mental health issue. That is an important distinction, because there seems to be no problem with the remaing patients (veteran or not) and having pain care meds allowed according to their needs.

There have been several posts contributed letting us know that Choice may allow an initial visit, but any care that provider prescribes for the patient ends up being ignored by the VHA/and Choice not paying for that care. I recall a patient being cleared for a surgery, but ultimately any aftercare would be at that veteran’s physical/emotional/monetary expense.

When the former Bureau of War Risk Insurance misuses their autonomous Executive Privledge to further strong arm civilian practices into performance according to VHA’s lack of care, then we are still up crap creek! The HIPPA rules are in stricter force outside of VHA. I have real doubt that the true professionals are going to knuckle under the pressure knowing they still have one huge expense, …to pay their malpractice insurance coverage. Which insurance do you guess will win out, and again at the expense of veteran patient care.

If VHA is the insurer/paying party for outside VA health care, then just like any other health insurer, they will dictate what they will cover. We have already seen how (BoWRI)/VHA overlording Choice has provided compromised care for many a veteran’s health issues, much like it is within VHA’s own buildings, …an unmistakable crap shoot.

ALERT – Active Shooter at YouTube Headquarters near SF International Airport. SF General Hospital is taking in patients (at least 6 incoming). And other authorities are involved. Go Google for more information. I hope it’s not a Veteran.

Off topic
I am not familiar with this site or its validity, bit I think this story brings up an interesting point. Here are the first paragraphs:
“http://www.govexec.com/management/2018/04/vas-interim-leadership-faces-legitimacy-questions/147139/”
VA’s Interim Leadership Faces Legitimacy Questions
By Katherine McIntire Peters April 2, 2018 40 Comments
“Did he quit or was he fired? That’s the central question regarding the departure of former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. The legitimacy of acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie serving in that position could turn on the answer.
Under the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act, if a Senate-confirmed official appointed by the president “dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office,” the president may temporarily appoint another Senate-confirmed official to serve in an acting capacity until a permanent replacement is nominated and confirmed by the Senate. That’s what President Trump did when he passed over Shulkin’s deputy for the position of acting secretary and named Wilkie, the undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, to take the helm at VA in the interim, while his nominee to permanently lead VA, Navy Rear Admiral Ronney Jackson, awaits confirmation.
But the law does not say such an interim appointment can be made if the president fires the official that creates the vacancy in the first place.
“It doesn’t say. That’s the problem,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “The language is not specific as to firing, and it raises a doubt.”
“One could imagine a scenario in which Congress was concerned about a president getting rid of somebody and trying to insert somebody else who wasn’t in the line of ordinary succession,” Stier said. “I don’t know. I’m not making a legal interpretation here. I’m talking about a practical implication.” In practical terms, that means Wilkie’s decisions and actions could be challenged in court, creating significant uncertainty for the department and its path forward.”…

Thomas Bowman comes already strapped-into his assigned Stairmaster on the V.A. Titanic’s Poop Deck.
At this point, the litmus test is easy as; If the VSO’s just love it, then it’s wise to assume it’s not necessarily good for we common non-dues-paying non-hatters out in the wild, but awesome gravy swill for the swine at trough.

That entitlement mentality also entrenches the VSO ranks and am going out on a limb but guessing many VSO’s relatives are to be found weighting furniture at the VA.

its a reparations job for African Americans to treat white veterans like shit in the federal government. it gives congress more time to collect sliding back pockets as the national treasure to be escorted among bureaucratic liberal lobbyist to ask for more money while the whole political VA scam fucks veterans for life.

and the African American union worker hates white soldiers because they feel treating such men the way there government has told them to treat white soldiers would be disgraceful to there ancestors. black union workers that work for the government hate white Americans. its been that way for many centuries that’s how African Americans garnish there rights to work for the audacity of political American corruption in return of some sort of civil reparations , that is there so called reparations to the American people fucking over the white ordain colonist especially there grand children trying to keep nation afloat .

i think of treating African Americans as you would a native American give them reservation not reparations, Chicago was a major influence of that, now look at chicago gutted like a tribal savage culture would .

. apologize that they feel hurt and send them back to Africa the mother land there rightful place, there ancestor would of appreciated it since back then we did not appreciate the civil war. its only fair . sadistic but fair.

black union works from the VA should serve black soldiers and white union workers from the VA should serve white soldiers so there is no intrusion of political racial privilege. and everyone gets treated the same way from the same color.

to treat these poor African American souls that feel they have lived back in the 1700-1900 and still think they still share an inequality am sorry that u still think you are a slave to some sort of standard but black lives that matter are unfortunately wrong in the American laws of democracy …..:( well white hardworking if not diligent veterans that had nothing to do with there ancestors are now paying the price of a corrupted government while being spit on by black African union workers to get what was promised to by Abraham Lincoln .

i really ask myself in times of racial war right now is it really all worth it if our freedoms are at racial difference in both parts of the spectrum of the democracy to mix it to blame it to render as something shameful?.

to be honest to all African Americans out there i get shitted on by your culture everyday back here in my state . as a white American i want peaceful segregation now . am distraught by African American crime and how it kills anything that is pale and walking.

. that there job doesnt matter because black lives matter. please African union extremest spit in your veterans face since you know nothing about protecting a nation due from the fact u feel that your privileged to call what people privileged. black people have to hate white people because at one time they were enslaved by white Americas. thats the sad truth i get shitted on VA black employees all day as a white man…. thats how it works now thats what happens when you support civil rights.

a trick government plays on us to recycle our appeals faster and deny us to make governmental quota to release more appropriations funds to the va employee incentive market. RAMP means they ramp something in your asshole so hard and so fast they put a check mark underneath your name as veteran served and denied. and when congress receives there good quota pushing appeals out like inflated money in a recession of denials. going to see armed fucking disabled veteran milita pulling triggers once again on captial hell. excuse me hill/ ANOTHER SCAM PROGRAM DEVELOPED BY JEWFULL BUREAUCRATIC CONTRACTOR

Common sense would dictate that Tatishka Thomas be immediately removed from her job working with Veterans, VA staff and AFGE members pending an investigation regarding her suitability to federal employment. The fact that it didn’t happen shines a light on the total mismanagement of personnel problems at Bay Pines.

Bay Pines has been the site of numerous protest the last several years both by staff and Veterans over the mismanagement problems at Bay Pines. From the staff members protesting being sexually harassed by the chief of security to corruption. From Veterans and a Veteran’s family members protesting the actions leading up to a Veterans suicide at the facility.

From the Veterans who were left without heat or running hot water for the month of January that were housed at the facility. Forced to use portable showers and porta poddies outside. How fricken inhuman and uncaring the leadership is at that facility.

Least us not forget the callous disregard, and disrespect, of the Veteran who died at the facility that was left in the shower room for convince of the staff.

A look at the Facilities leadership page tells the story very clearly. With the exception of one all top leadership positions filled by Woman who have never served and have been employed at the facility between 6 to 20 years.

The one exception, is a stick figure of a man who looks like he would need help carrying a 5# bag of sugar. He is also a non-veteran that has been at the facility for 15 years. The timing of his promotion indicates he was promoted out of his job as Chief of Engineering Service to Acting Assistant Director following the problems with maintenance that led to the loss of running water and heat to a Veterans housing unit that housed 248 Veterans.

Clearly, by not taking appropriate action and suspending Tatishka Thomas until an investigation into her fitness for duty is just the management staff at Bay Pines showing just how incompetent they are. As they have done repeatedly in the past.

Another area that VA refuses to offer leadership, veterans must take the lead as always and make sure there is complete inclusion of all people, just as we learn in service, we all bleed, and we all need to eat and live peacefully. Anyone who see’s it different did not spend enough time in the military as we are all the same assholes.

Liberals may have taken over the VA. You’ll probably get service connected a lot quicker for Military Sexual Assault PTSD than you would for Combat PTSD. Why do you think that is? MST is being pushed by the liberal agenda, not combat PSTD.